title: Fractures and other injuries from falls after an ice storm.
abstract: This is a retrospective review of all patients seen at an urban emergency department for 9 days after an ice storm because of a fall on ice. Date of presentation, age, sex, and anatomic location and type of injury were tabulated. Risk factors for fractures were identified. A total of 327 injuries were identified in 259 patients. Back injury was most common (19.3%). Ninety-one patients sustained 93 fractures. Ankle fractures were most common (24.7%), followed by fractures of wrist (19.4%) and hip (14.0%). Ankle fractures were more common than other studies of falls after a snow storm. Fracture was significantly related to age (P = .0001). There was a trend for women to sustain fractures (P = .07). Unlike other mass casualty events, fractures and injuries peaked on the 5th and 6th day after the storm, allowing adequate time for mobilizing resources to care for the injured.
authors.affiliation: Emergency Medicine and Trauma Center, Methodist Hospital of Indiana, Indianapolis, USA.
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Nelson
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D019567:Back Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D006764:Hospitals, Community; D006786:Hospitals, Urban; D006801:Humans; D007053:Ice / Q000009:adverse effects*; D007196:Indiana; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014887:Weather
chemical_list: D007053:Ice